[heat123]

Hi. I hope you are doing well. My computer was 60 degrees consistently and I think that is a little to much. That was when I was on the internet, typing a document, or it was just on and I was not doing anything. Wanted to get something or do something to cool it down to the right temperature. I figured out that is was 60 degress becuase I downloaded a tool and it told me how hot it was. I was just curious what you would recommend to do to cool the temperature of my computer down. Thanks for your help in advance.

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Welcome.

You will need to open your case and look at a few things. If you are uncomfortable in doing that, then please take it to a shop, or find someone that can help.

Please turn off and remove all power from the computer. Unplug the power cable also.
Open the case and look/ clean all your fans. Pay particular attention to the fan and heat sink on the CPU.
Blow all the fans and heat sinks out with canned air.
make sure all the fans spin.

You can plug the computer in, leave the cover off, and turn the unit on to also verify the fans spin.

DO NOT REACH INTO THE CASE WITH THE COVER OFF.

[123Runner]

Welcome.

You will need to open your case and look at a few things. If you are uncomfortable in doing that, then please take it to a shop, or find someone that can help.

Please turn off and remove all power from the computer. Unplug the power cable also.
Open the case and look/ clean all your fans. Pay particular attention to the fan and heat sink on the CPU.
Blow all the fans and heat sinks out with canned air.
make sure all the fans spin.

You can plug the computer in, leave the cover off, and turn the unit on to also verify the fans spin.

DO NOT REACH INTO THE CASE WITH THE COVER OFF.

[heat123]

Hi 123Runner I had a few questions about that. One is, where would you recommend I buy canned air and what kind etc do you recommend I buy? Also I have opened my case and replaced my ram but how do I know what are the fans and heatsinks? Could you give me some information on where my heatsink and fans are? It is a Dell Dimension 2400 series. Will this stop my computer from overheating? I bought 512mb for my computer and put it in and also have 256mb. in my other slot. Do you think it would get quicker if I buy 512mb and put it in the slot that has 256mb now? Where do recommend I buy it? Because I bought my 512mb at Best Buy but it was too much money $65. Where could I find pretty good quality for a good price? I feel comfortable with doing the canned air myself but just need to know the answer to my questions. Thanks for your quick reply and for helping me. Hope you are doing well.

[123Runner]

Canned air is compressed air. You can find it at Best Buy, walmart, etc. You should have fans at the rear, possibly side and front of the case. They spin when running to draw cool air thru the computer. The CPU and heat sink are located on the mother board. Generally about center.

[heat123]

Will this stop my computer from overheating? I bought 512mb for my computer and put it in and also have 256mb. in my other slot. Do you think it would get quicker if I buy 512mb and put it in the slot that has 256mb now? Where do recommend I buy it? Because I bought my 512mb at Best Buy but it was too much money $65. I am not at that computer for about 5 more days but when I do I will do this. But, could you please answer these questions. Thanks for all your help so far.

[123Runner]

The amount of memory has nothing to do with over heating. Buying more will make it a little more responsice,

[heat123]

I know memory has nothing to do with over heating but I was curious if you knew about memory and could answer those questions please. These questions. I bought 512mb for my computer and put it in and also have 256mb. in my other slot. Do you think it would get quicker if I buy 512mb and put it in the slot that has 256mb now? Where do recommend I buy it? What brand and company do you recommend I get? Because I bought my 512mb at Best Buy but it was too much money $65.


Also as I said before I will not be able to do the canned air thing for another 3 and a half days. Thanks for your quick replies and help.

[123Runner]

Go to http://www.crucial.com/ or
go to http://www.4allmemory.com/ to run the scanners.

These sites will tell you what you have in and will recommend.
You do not need to buy from them, but you can now do a better search.

[heat123]

It says I should have 512mb at crucial.com. Where do you recommend I buy that? Also I want a good price and quality. Why would I not buy from them? Because you said "You do not need to buy from them, but you can now do a better search."

[123Runner]

Because you can buy the same memory at different vendors for different prices.

For example, I am also looking to upgrade.

Directron.com 1gb ddr 400 (crucial) is 34.99
at crucial.com it is 37.99
and at Tigerdirect it is 28.99 (after 8.00 rebate)

All the same.

[heat123]

I am going to get some compressed air know that I am back with this computer with the overheating problem. Will tell you when I get that and then ask you if that is a find kind? Then do the cleaning. Sorry for the late reply have been busy. Thanks for all your help so far.

[Troy]

Hi heat123,

Does this link take you to the support page for your computer? (Just for reference, if need be).

I personally have never used compressed air to clean a computer. I have seen it used (on a really dirty computer) and it just blew dust and muck everywhere, it was really disgusting and made me cough...

What I do is identify the key areas that need cleaning, where they are located, and the extent of cleaning needed. Then I will physically remove the part and clean it (if it's a fan), usually with a vacuum cleaner running so I can suck up the loose dust instead of breathing it in. A small, fine brush is what I use to loosen and "sweep" the dust into where the vacuum cleaner is.

Of course, I am very careful at all times about not touching anything other than that which I'm working on at the time. It can be very easy to bump a power cord or something, and then wonder why the computer doesn't start up when you're finished...

The main key areas I find are usually the same - these are the CPU heatsink/fan, case fans, the outside of the power supply, and the video card fan (if applicable).

If this does not fix your problem, then you may need to try reseating the CPU heatsink/fan. This will include removing the heatsink/fan from the case, cleaning the old thermal paste off the CPU and then from the heatsink/fan, then adding new thermal paste to the heatsink/fan and remounting it.

If you are comfortable with this, I could give you more detailed instructions. Let me know if this is the case.

In your next reply, would you kindly:

• Take a photo of the inside of your computer case and upload it
• Download Speedfan from my signature and report what temperatures you get (a screenshot may be handy)
• Report back how many fans you have in your case, where they are located, and in which direction they are blowing air

Cheers

Troy

[warriorscot]

A vacuum cleaner is a good way to do it, but you MUST immobilise all the fans so they don't spin when you vacuum them as if you don't they can damage themselves. Just use cable ties to secure the fans, compressed air is good for tricky areas like inside HSFs and doesn't generate static and I recommend a combination of both as a vacuum cleaner and brush doesn't always clean all the tricky bits or places where it is really gummed up.

If you have filters on your fans clean them out regularly and if you don't have any they are worth considering.

[heat123]

I will not be able to upload a image of my computer case because I don't know how to upload it and I don't have a scanner. I will download speedfan tomorrow and tell you the temperatures as well as the fans etc. I am not at that computer with the problem but will report back tommorrow sorry for the inconvience. Thanks for all your help so far.

[Troy]

All you need to upload a picture into your reply is the picture file on your computer, and then to follow these instructions.

If you have a digital camera that you can connect to your computer, then you are good to go.

If you can't do it, it doesn't really matter, I was just looking to identify key areas for you.

Cheers

Troy